BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Kevin Murray, Chairman

                                           2194 (Bass)
          
          Hearing Date:  8/17/2006        Amended: 6/20/2006
          Consultant:  John Miller        Policy Vote: Human Svcs. 4 - 1
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          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:  AB 2194 expands eligibility for the Independent  
          Living Program services to foster care youth with non-relative  
          guardians and foster youth over 14 years of age. 
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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2006-07      2007-08       2008-09     Fund
           Cost pressure          $ 1,700    $ 3,500     $3,500    GF/FF

          Bill limits implementation "to the extent resources are  
          available".                                   
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          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE

          This bill makes foster youth who are adopted at 14 years of age  
          or older and youth placed in non-relative guardianships,  
          eligible for "independent living services.  "Independent Living  
          Services" include a variety of services intended to assist  
          foster youth and former foster youth to transition to living on  
          their own. The services may include job placement, employment  
          training, classes on budgeting and housekeeping or assistance  
          accessing health care or housing. Foster youth typically become  
          eligible to receive independent living services sometime between  
          16 and the date of their emancipation, usually at age 18. The  
          nature and amount of such services vary widely between counties  
          and there is no fixed standard for eligibility or common  
          benefit.  Each year roughly 4,000 foster youth emancipate out of  
          the program. Historically, emancipated foster youth have not  
          done well on their own - roughly one half fail to graduate from  
          high school and almost one third become homeless within the  
          first year of emancipation.

          Funding for Independent Living Programs is fixed ($38 million  
          for 2006-07) and falls considerably short of the need or demand  










          for the services from currently eligible youth. Expanding the  
          number of foster youth eligible for the services may not result  
          in additional services. If funding were increased to cover those  
          youth eligible through this legislation, the cost would be  
          approximately $3.5 million.